


In Your Room

by solidburnreturned



Category: Trolls (2016), Trolls World Tour (2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Confessions, F/F, Pining, Sharing a Bed, and this fic is super gay, barb is super conflicted, edit: new chapters will be during and after world tour, poppy is super oblivious, pre-sequal but post first movie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-25 17:09:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22499590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solidburnreturned/pseuds/solidburnreturned
Summary: After the leaders of the six major troll kingdoms have their monthly meeting, Poppy is forced out of her sleeping quarters by pests. A perfect opportunity to try and befriend Queen Barb, whose always acted a little funny around Poppy.(AU where the kingdoms are aware of each other and the leaders meet monthly to keep up on the happenings of the other trolls. Set about a year before World Tour.)
Relationships: Poppy/Barb (Trolls)
Comments: 38
Kudos: 193





	In Your Room

**Author's Note:**

> okay I am SO desperate to write for these two and I've been so frustrated waiting for the movie to finally come out so I could write accurately for all the characters. but lol...I'm impatient and AUs are a thing. did my best to write everyone as accurately as possible based on what we've been given and just what my personal headcanons are :) its super self indulgent for sure lol but hopefully not half bad
> 
> hope you enjoy!

It was a perfect day for traveling. Sunny and warm (but not sweltering), some clouds drifting through, and a soft breeze moving through the forest. Poppy felt lucky; last month’s kingdom meeting had fallen on a rather stormy day, making the caterbus ride considerably more bumpy and resulting in her arriving with drenched...everything. The other troll leaders had been sympathetic, commenting on the unpredictable weather the pop kingdom’s forest sometimes had. Except for Queen Barb, anyway, who didn’t try to hold back her snort of laughter as she watched Poppy trudge through the door of the meeting hall, leaving small puddles behind her. Typical for the hard rock troll...but it still made Poppy’s cheeks burn at the time. 

This meeting would be different, though. Good weather, good things to report for her kingdom, and good food to be eaten at their potluck. Tucked away in one of her many sparkly pink bags was a large pot of gooey mac and cheese, fruit salad, and a couple dozen confetti cupcakes. Honestly, the monthly Kingdom Meeting was a big favorite of Poppy’s. A chance to get out, hear some fun stories, eat, play music, and have a fun sleepover. However...

“Poppy, you sure you’re good to go by yourself?” Branch asked for probably the twentieth time, interjecting into Poppy's train of thought. “I can cancel with Biggie and at least go with you for the ride.”

Poppy rolled her eyes and forced a smile through her slight annoyance at Branch’s pestering. “I’m sure, thank you very much! I’ve been going for over a year now on my own, I think I’ve got it down.” She quickly adjusted her crown as she glanced over at him. “Besides, Biggie’s heart would be broken if you canceled on him so late. He made that new tux for Mr. Dinkles and everything!”

Branch shifted uncomfortably, two of Poppy’s bags tucked under his arms as he waited with her for Cloud Guy to arrive in his caterbus. “Still...you know how I feel about Cloud Guy’s driving. And Barb.” The last word was practically forced off his tongue.

" _Queen_ Barb, buster," Poppy corrected with feigned sternness, earning a scowl. “You worry too much!” The rumble that appeared under the pair’s feet signaled the approach of her ride. “Just relax and keep a good eye out for me while I’m gone. It’ll be fine, Queen Barb’s just-” Poppy let out a surprised grunt as she tried to lift one of her bags, the sack barely moving from the ground. “Jeez, you put rocks in here or something?”

“No, that’s this month’s safety report.”

“Oh.” Poppy adjusted her grip on the bag, looking as if she was biting back a sly remark. 

Before Branch could call her out on her lack of poker face, the pink and purple caterbus came charging through the bushes, Cloud Guy behind the wheel with his usual slight grin. Branch’s eyebrows lowered even more as the bus pulled up beside them and the socked weather creature came ambling down the steps.

“Hey there, funky pair,” he said with a pair of finger guns. “Ready to blow this joint, Queen Poppy?”

“You know it!” Poppy (with much effort) grabbed up the bag containing her reports and made her way onto the bus, Branch following and burning a glare into Cloud Guy. 

Once everything was safely stowed away, Poppy gave Branch a quick hug, extra tight to make up for the hugs lost while she would be away. “Don’t freak out while I’m gone, yeah?”

“No promises,” Branch grumbled before breaking out into a small smile. “Bye, Poppy.”

“Later, gator!” And with that, the doors squeaked shut and Poppy plunked herself in her seat, waving goodbye to the still stressed looking Branch through the window as the caterbus took off. 

“He’s still working on that chill huh?”

Poppy nodded and shifted away from the window. “Yeah, but he’s making good progress! He only begged to come with me for twenty minutes this time.”

“Radical. Going to the same stump as usual, Queen Bean?” Cloud Guy asked, looking up at Poppy through the rear view.

“Yessir!” Poppy kicked her feet up on the empty seat beside her. “Got any good stories to tell me on the way?”

As Cloud Guy recounted his dealings with rainbows and successful “annoy Branch” plights, Poppy felt her mind start to wander. She hoped that the other kingdoms had a good month...that was usually the case, except for the rock trolls. Poppy wasn’t surprised, given the fact that they basically lived in a hot, rocky, barren wasteland, but it still made her sad to hear Barb talk about how they’d struggled with a water shortage, or burns on their feet from the lava boiling beneath the obsidian, or whatever else had gone wrong that month. They could never catch a break down there. Barb always talked about it as if it were not much more than an inconvenience rather than a real issue, but Poppy could tell that there was frustration behind her words. But what was there to do? The rock trolls chose to live by a volcano, right? Can’t expect that to be easy living. She didn’t really understand why Barb didn’t just move her kingdom to a safer location. The bog, the grasslands, the patch of unclaimed forest near Bergen Town...but there were plenty of things about the queen of rock that she didn’t understand. How Barb seemed bored and uninterested when any ruler other than Poppy was speaking, as if her words would impact Barb more somehow. Maybe because they lived close by? Though, she lived pretty close to King Trollex too, and still seemed to let his reports go in one ear and out the other. Another oddity was how she’d always bring some sort of rather disgusting food to the potluck. Chicken legs with whipped cream...steak dipped in chocolate...the sweets, Poppy could appreciate, but meat just was not very involved in the diet of pop trolls. Or any of the other trolls, it seemed. Barb never seemed very interested in any of the food the other trolls brought, and vice versa, so Poppy speculated that Barb was really just making her favorites so she could eat them by herself. Clever, she had to admit...but not very good party etiquette by pop troll standards. What could you do? Barb was not one to take criticism. Or advice. Or much of anything. 

Before Poppy knew it, a few hours had passed, the sun had begun to sink over the horizon, and the huge stump that served as the kingdom rulers’ meeting quarters was coming into view. It was covered in a thick layer of moss that helped keep the area cool, and the roots had grown over a stream that could accommodate King Trollex’s need to be in the water. Surrounding the stump was dense forest and foliage, giving them cover from predators and plenty of privacy should someone stumble upon them. The inside had been hollowed out many, many years ago, when the kingdoms had first been created, serving as a house of peace and unity that the leaders could use to stay updated on troll happenings. A great dining room served as the main place of meeting. A full stomach always made a conversation better, after all. There was also a recreation room for the leaders to enjoy themselves in after business had been settled, and rooms for each leader to sleep in overnight, as the haul to the stump was quite a ways for most of them. A feeling of excitement swelled in Poppy’s chest as the caterbus pulled up, leaving her bouncing in her seat.

“Alrighty, you ready to go and tell them about the stellar happenings of the month?” Cloud Guy asked, following Poppy off of the bus with some of her bags in hand.

“You betcha!” The pink troll practically skipped up to the towering doors, bumping them open with her hip and greeting the apparently empty room with a beaming smile. 

“First one to get here again, huh?”

“Yeah, well, y’know! Everyone else is kind of a trek from the forest. They’ll be here soon!” Poppy made her way to her seat at the table (painted rainbow to mark her ownership), bags plunked down beside her. “Thanks for the help, CG! See you tomorrow morning!”

The cloud winked and floated off, disappearing through the crack in the door and riding off in his bus a few moments later. Poppy busied herself by waking up the globugs and luminescent mushrooms along the walls and ceiling before setting up her prepared dishes on the buffet table that their chairs surrounded. Unable to resist, she gave the room a quick scan before popping one of her cupcakes into her mouth. Ah...perfect.

Just as the wrapper was stuffed into her hair like damning evidence, King Trollex splashed up from the pool in the corner of the room, greeting Poppy with a glowing grin.

“Hey, Queen Poppy! Man, you always beat me!”

“You were really close this time! I just got here!” Poppy laughed, making her way over to the king of techno to give him a hug. 

“Anyone else here yet?”

Poppy shook her head, just in time for King Trollzart to come buzzing in, bags in hand. “Oh, I’m not last this time! Excellent!”

“I’m betting on Delta being last,” Trollex said, swimming over to the table with a plate of sushi. “Summer is hoedown season. I’m sure she was pounding those hooves well into the night.”

“We shall see,” Trollzart hummed, placing his dessert dish of butterscotch cotton candy and angel food cake at the far end of the table. “Queen Poppy, are those three dishes yours? You always outdo us with the amount you deliver!”

Poppy shrugged with a tut. “Oh, I just cut up some fruit for something extra. No biggie!”

The two kings settled into their seats (Trollzart’s being a glittery gold and Trollex’s wrapped in neon) just as the doors opened once more, revealing both a smiling Mayor Delta Dawn and the king and queen of funk: Quincy and Essence. 

“Howdy y’all!” Delta cheered as she galloped in, overnight bags and food in tow. 

“Didn’t start without us now, did you?” A tray of finger subs was added to the table by King Quincy, followed by Queen Essence’s deep dish pizza. 

“How could they without the prettiest plates!” Delta said, squeezing in her loaf of corn bread and two tall pitchers. “Y’all’d be miserable without my sweet tea!”

“Oh, you’re so right,” Poppy giggled, unable to resist pouring herself a glass.

“Not gonna wait for Queen Barb?” Queen Essence asked as she took her psychedelically colored seat, looking around for the red haired troll.

“I’m surprised that she’s not here by now,” King Trollex said, brow furrowed. “Think she ran into some trouble?”

“She _is_ trouble,” Delta snorted.

Poppy sipped her tea, eyes trailing to the ground. “...I’m sure she’s on her way...Volcano Rock City is kinda far, after all.”

“We got twice the distance she has!” King Quincy huffed. “Rock trolls...you know how they be.”

On cue, the door was practically blown in, Barb strutting through with a scowl on her face, a bag slung over her shoulder and a large crock pot balanced in one hand. She wordlessly made her way over to the table, ungraciously plunking the pot down and tossing her bag over by her obsidian chair. 

“Hi, Barb!” Poppy said, leaning over into Barb’s space to offer up a hug. “What kept you?”

Barb responded by leaning away, as if Poppy had something contagious. “Forgot to make my thing for dinner.”

“And what did you end up making?” Trollzart asked with a hint of fear.

“Chili.”

The other rulers seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief. Chili seemed normal. Definitely not on the same level as fish dunked in mayo and BBQ sauce. They all began passing dishes around the table, everyone taking generous portions (expect for Barb, who either passed a dish right along or took about half a spoonful to go with her pile of chili) until they were all settled with their meals. The others, in turn, took minuscule bits of Barb’s chili. Normal as it seemed, they were still suspicious...except for Poppy, who happily filled her plate with a generous scoop of everything offered. They all began debriefing the month’s events, discussing parties, shows, illness, unusual predators, food and water supply, etc. As Poppy suspected, everyone seemed to have a fairly easy month, except for the rock trolls. Barb briefly touched on the fact that the volcano had had a mild eruption, causing an unexpected ash layer in their food and water for about a week and a half. The other leaders barely blinked in acknowledgement, though Poppy felt quite badly for the rock trolls and their obviously stressed leader. Especially after talking hearing about how everyone else had an abundance of supplies.

“Y’know, if you guys ever need water or anything, I’m happy to share!” She offered with a warm smile.

Barb glared at her before shoveling a spoonful of chili in her mouth. At least she didn’t snap with some kind of insult; Poppy took that as a small victory. Her own portion of chili sat on her plate, still steaming after sitting there for a fair few minutes. Poppy was honestly a bit nervous to try it, as the others seemed to be, but she didn’t want to be rude. Plus, she could see Barb side eyeing her as Poppy tasted everyone else’s food but hers. 

Poppy decided to just bite the bullet and took a spoonful into her mouth. Regret and unbearable spice flooded her mouth immediately, making her choke and interrupt Trollzart’s report of gusty winds in his kingdom. The classical troll paused and gave her a couple pats on the back as she coughed. 

“Too much for you, cake pop?” Barb said with a smirk.

“Oh, no, it’s-” Poppy took a moment to chug down some sweet tea. “-it’s great. Lots of flavor. Awesome job!”

The rock queen’s ears folded back and she looked away, face flushing as she took another bite of her own dish. Poppy figured it was the extreme heat making Barb turn pink; she didn’t know how Barb could eat so much of it with a straight face. The meeting went on, Poppy listening and watching Barb from the corner of her eye. She didn't know why she had the urge to watch the rock troll so carefully, but that's exactly what she did. Barb had put her feet up on the table, leaning back in her seat as she indulged in seconds of chili. Clearly, she was not listening to the other trolls, using a guitar pick to dig a bean out of her pointed teeth as Delta described the massive hoedown marathon the country trolls had been enjoying for the past couple weeks. Only when it was finally Poppy’s turn did Barb seem to perk up, her large eyes focused intently on the pink troll as she talked about their progress with the bergens, recent sightings of growl beasts, and a delightful surplus of fresh peaches. Nothing too exciting, but Barb seemed completely enthralled, only diverting her gaze when it was met by Poppy’s. Poppy was conflicted; should she be weirded out or flattered to be the only one getting Barb's attention?

“Well! If no one has anything else to comment on...” Silence. “I think we can wrap things up. Great food once again, you guys,” Trollex said with a satisfied sigh. “I think I might crash early tonight. We’ve got a big rave in my kingdom tomorrow.”

“I’m gonna hit the hay too,” Delta said with a yawn, snatching up another one of Poppy’s cupcakes. “Two weeks of hoedown can take a toll on a troll!”

The others nodded and murmured in agreement, all giving different reasons for heading off to bed early and wishing a goodnight to one another. Poppy decided she’d also get some rest, gathering up her overnight bag and heading off to her room, Barb right behind her. She noticed as she was walking away that the chili the others had put on their plates had gone untouched. Sympathy washed over her; it was never fun to watch your tasty hard work go unappreciated at a party. At least Barb didn’t really seem to care. The rock troll just licked her own plate clean and gathered up her stuff to head to bed. 

“Sweet dreams, Barb!” Poppy called over her shoulder as Barb went to enter her room. 

Barb offered a passive bounce of her eyebrows as a response before heading into what practically looked like a cave. Yeesh. Poppy was glad she didn’t have to spend the night in such a dark, gloomy room. She continued down the hall, looking forward to her cozy bed and fuzzy pajamas.

Her eager smile turned into a horrified frown as she opened the door, greeted by a swarm of giant grubs munching away at the rotting wood that once was her room. The bed had been chewed to pieces, the dresser practically a skeleton, and the once decorated walls riddled with gnawed-out holes. With a short squeak, Poppy slammed the door shut, standing for a moment in shock before robotically picking her bags back up and allowing her stiff legs to stagger back down the hall towards Barb’s room.

A quick knock summoned a confused and pajama-clad Barb. “What?” She said shortly.

“Um, my-” Poppy paused and looked Barb up and down, studying her red and black striped pajama bottoms and black shirt. “...Nice pajamas!”

Barb blinked. The door began to shut.

“W-Wait!” Poppy stuck her foot in the door, pushing herself halfway in Barb’s room. “My room got eaten!”

“...what?”

“My room. It’s full of termites or grubs or something...” Poppy pulled her best puppy eyes. “Can I stay with you tonight?”

Barb’s eyes widened, the blush creeping over her face barely visible in the low light. “Uh...”

“Pleeeaaaase?” 

“...No. Get lost.”

The puppy eyes disappeared, turning offended. “Why? We’ll have fun, I promise!”

Frown turning crooked as her blush deepened, Barb tried again to close the door, digging her shoulder into Poppy’s. “Yeah, fat chance. Go whine to Delta, cake pop.”

Poppy wedged herself in further, grabbing one of Barb’s leather wristbands. “But she kicks in her sleep! A broken leg would seriously mess up my dancing plans next month. You wanna hear in my reports that I spent the whole next month...without dancing?" She gasped in horror, but dropped the act as she saw that Barb's unimpressed expression had not changed. "C’mon, it’s just one night...girl’s night!”

Barb looked disgusted as she tried to jerk her arm out of Poppy’s oddly iron grip. “Will you just-!”

“Please! Please please! You won’t even know I’m there! Pleeeee-”

With an aggravated groan of defeat, Barb rolled her eyes and stepped out of the way, allowing Poppy to tumble in. “Fine, whatever! Just keep your stuff away from mine!”

Poppy squealed and bounced up off the ground, chattering about how fun a sleepover between them would be, until she took a good look at the room as the door shut behind her. It was very...dark. One glowing red mushroom by Barb’s bed was the only source of light. What little furniture she had was varying shades of black, grey, and dingy red. The whole room smelled like something was burning, and the bedding itself looked fairly singed and tattered. Poppy inched her way in further, setting her bags down on the least dusty looking part of the floor. Despite the odd living quarters, Poppy dawned her smile once more, not wanting to make the rock queen self conscious. Barb had returned to her bed, watching Poppy with narrowed eyes as she sat with crossed arms.

“Okay! Um...I’m gonna put my PJs on!” Poppy said, rooting through her bag for fleecy pink sleeper set. She could hear Barb hastily roll over to give her some privacy. As Poppy continued rooting around, she realized with disappointment that she’d forgotten the top to her pajamas at home. “Aw, man...”

“What?” Barb grunted without looking over.

“I forgot the shirt part...do you have one I could borrow?” 

Barb twisted to look at Poppy with a bewildered look. “Uh...borrow?”

“Yeah, did you bring an extra shirt or anything?” 

There was a short, slightly awkward pause as Barb considered poppy’s request. Begrudgingly sliding out of bed, Barb trudged over to her own bag next to Poppy’s and pulled out a black t-shirt with _heartbreaker_ scrawled over the front in red. “Here.” The shirt was roughly shoved in Poppy’s face.

“Thanks!” Poppy took it gratefully and quickly changed as Barb once again climbed back into bed. The shirt was a bit long on her and was a stark contrast against her pink...everything...but she didn’t mind. It even had that smokey smell that followed Barb around.

Poppy literally jumped into bed next to Barb, the red haired troll’s bark of surprise joined by Poppy’s cry of discomfort as her body slapped like a dead fish against the mattress. “JEEZ...what, do you sleep on a brick or something?”

“Not everyone likes things soft and fluffy,” Barb growled, yanking the black covers up over herself and turning away. 

Easing back more gingerly into the mattress, Poppy let out an indignant sigh and tried to get comfortable. The dusty grey pillow was not very soft either.

“No need to be so prickly, y’know.”

A sarcastic snort of laughter.

“I think you’re actually pretty nice. Or you could be, anyway.” 

“You could be nice if you would shut up.”

“See, that’s not helping your case.”

The glare Barb shot over her shoulder at Poppy sent a spark through her limbs. “I don’t _have_ a case.”

“Oh! I’ll help you make one!” Poppy began counting on her fingers. “You made everyone chili...you let me stay with you in your room...you lent me a shirt...and it sounds like you really care about the trolls in your kingdom!” Poppy gave Barb a warm smile. “Sounds nice to me!”

Barb’s glare had softened a bit, morphing into just a tired stare. Poppy’s smile did not falter. Wordlessly, Barb rolled back over to reface the wall. Progress? Poppy thought so. She nestled in further to the bed and closed her eyes.

“I think we could be good friends.”

Continued silence from Barb. Poppy figured that maybe she’d fallen asleep. The opportunity to inch her hand over and try tugging some of the blanket over herself was taken. Much to Poppy’s surprise, Barb shoved half the blanket over to her. The pink troll snuggled up under it gratefully, shutting her eyes and settling in for a night’s rest. 

\---

Rest was not coming easy for Poppy. 

She laid still on her back, not wanting to disturb Barb with tossing and turning, keeping her eyes closed to try and trick her brain into falling asleep. The environment was just too different...too freaky. It felt like she’d been laying there like a log for hours. Barb was just as unmoving. Poppy figured she must just be a heavy sleeper. Curious, Poppy peeked an eye open, cautiously peering over at Barb’s side of the bed. She almost jumped when her gaze met Barb’s. Pink eyes almost glowing in the inky blackness of the room, it was clear that Barb had been studying Poppy while she thought the pop queen slept. All while looking oddly forlorn; maybe lost. As soon as she realized Poppy had noticed her, though, Barb seemed to freeze up, jerking her head away to stare at the ceiling with wide eyes instead. 

Her initial shock washed away as Poppy turned her head curiously. “You okay, Barb?”

Hot pink flooded Barb’s face. “I’m fine.” She turned to Poppy almost sheepishly. “Can't sleep?”

“Well, I mean, I’m...” Poppy flicked her eyes over the looming shadows across the walls. “...I’m just adjusting.”

Barb nodded. Silence filled the narrow space between them once more. 

“...How long were you looking at me?”

A heavy wince from Barb. “Uh...I-I was just. Lookin’ around.” She shifted a bit under the covers. “I’m...not used to sharing a room, so. Yeah. Don't flatter yourself.”

“You've never had a sleepover or anything?” Poppy gasped, apalled.

Barb’s sharp eyebrows lowered in slight exasperation. “No. Well...I mean, I guess, but I had my own bed.”

“Aww...are you, like, nervous?” Poppy gushed, pressing her hand to her face. Barb pressed herself further into the mattress (a difficult task given its firmness), growling out a sigh and flattening her ears back. Poppy took that as a yes and let out a sympathetic noise while inching closer to Barb. “You don’t have to be nervous! I don’t bite!”

Barb watched Poppy scoot closer with wide, almost frightened eyes, but made no move to try and get away from her. Poppy took this as at least a yellow light. Hugging Barb was like hugging a statue, and it gave Poppy a bit of déjà vu. The embrace was not returned, which she honestly expected. The heat radiating from her face was, however, a bit of a surprise.

“You sure you’re okay? You’re pretty warm!” 

“I-I’m always warm. Mind your own bee's guts.” Barb’s tone was unconvincing, but Poppy didn’t press, snickering a bit at the odd phrase instead.

Poppy held her tightly until the rock queen finally seemed to have had enough, grumbling and squirming against her grip. Poppy released Barb, who even then still did not relax. “Maybe it was that chili you made! That would definitely put some heat under my skin. I mean, it was good! We just...don’t eat a lot of spicy food in my village.”

A loose shrug. “It’s my dad’s recipe.”

“Aw!” Poppy leaned against Barb, interest sparked. Her heart ached a bit more now, remembering the plates with the abandoned chili on them. “My cupcakes are _my_ dad’s recipe! I dunno if you tried them-”

“I had five.”

Poppy did not hide her surprise. “Oh, wow!” A touch of smugness came over her and she winked, sticking her tongue out. “Pretty good, huh?”

Barb gave a resigned nod, unable to meet Poppy’s eyes. Poppy couldn’t hold back a small chuckle; this was a side of Barb that she wasn’t at all familiar with. A bit anxious, chatty, maybe even...vulnerable? It was honestly sorta endearing. Something about seeing the usually brash, ferocious, intense rock queen like this made Poppy’s heart almost flutter. Her eyes traced Barb’s features slowly, not caring that she was basically staring. She wanted to explore this further.

Propping an elbow up on Barb’s chest for a headrest, Poppy rolled over on her stomach, kicking her feet nonchalantly in the air. “Well, if neither of us are gonna sleep, let’s talk!” The rather alarmed expression Barb wore was ignored. “Wanna play a game? ‘Never Have I Ever?’”

“...I think I’d beat you.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“It’s a promise.”

The resistance really just made Poppy want to push further. “Well, why don’t we start slow with ‘20 Questions’ then? Warm ourselves up a little.”

Another half-amused snort before Barb let out a yawn, rubbing her eyes. “Alright, whatever.” However, a moment later she tensed up and looked Poppy up and down with suspicious eyes. “...What are you trying to get out of me?”

“Huh?”

Barb sat up abruptly, sending Poppy tumbling with an _oof_. “Don’t think you can get everything you want because you’re cute, cake pop. I don’t have sugar for brains like the others.”

Poppy’s bewilderment was replaced with a flattered smile. “Aw, you think I’m cute?” 

The rock troll recoiled with a snarl, rolling back onto her side, curled up defensively. “Shut up!”

“C’mon, I thought we were really getting somewhere for a sec!” Poppy crawled up onto Barb, who gave a rather feeble attempt at pushing her off. “Tell me about your dad! O-Or your favorite song! Your best friend? Your first kiss? Your-?”

“GOD, do you _ever_ stop talking?” Barb snapped, grabbing her pillow and wrapping it over her ears, squashing her mohawk flat. “Go back to your own room and bother those grubs, I’m sure they’ll ditch after five minutes of you!”

Now Poppy was having a bit more fun, ignoring Barb’s insult as she began running her fingers through Barb’s red hair. “I like your mohawk...I’ve kinda always thought about getting one, but I’d miss my hair!” Her other hand smoothed over the shaved side of Barb’s head. “Do you just rub this part all day? I would, it feels soooo good!”

Barb looked ready to implode. “Stop it, what’s the matter with you?!” One foot was shoved up under Poppy, pushing her up into the air as if she was stuck on a stake.

“Woahoho, you’re pretty strong!” Poppy stuck her arms out, pretending she was soaring over the clouds. 

With a growl, Barb tossed Poppy off her foot, sending her bumbling towards the foot of the bed with a shout of laughter before she came crawling right back.

“Do that again, it was fun!” Poppy straddled Barb before the rock troll could move, leaving her face burning and eyes wide with near panic.

“C-Can you just-!” Barb continued to try and get the giggling Poppy out of her personal space, movements growing more frantic and sloppy as Poppy took it as a wrestling game. “Poppy!”

Before the pair knew it, they were suddenly sliding off the bed, a tangled mess of arms, legs, and blanket. They landed with a hard _thud_ against the wood floor, Poppy’s face squashed into Barb’s as they laid there, one in glee and one in shock. 

After a moment of catching her breath, Poppy shifted her eyes to meet Barb’s. “That was fun!” She huffed before wrapping Barb up in another hug. “...and you have very pretty eyes.”

Barb was pretty much short-circuiting, overwhelmed by Poppy’s face being right up against hers while she pretty much cuddled her. The compliment jerked her back to her senses. Gruffly, Poppy was shoved off of her, allowing Barb to scramble back into bed and stick herself on the far corner of the mattress, curled up to be as small as she could make herself. 

“Leave. Me. _Alone.”_

 _“_ Oh, you’re _just_ like Branch, wow!” Unfazed, Poppy hopped right back into bed, sitting cross-legged right against Barb’s back. “He needs breaks between hugs too. He’s a funny troll.”

Barb’s ears perked slightly as she looked over her shoulder at Poppy with sudden new interest. “Who?”

“Branch, my friend back home!” Poppy smiled widely, tracing shapes into the sheets with her finger. “He’s grumpy and kinda standoffish, but he’s also got a mushy-gushy side to him. Just takes a little prodding to get it out sometimes.”

Poppy almost jumped when Barb suddenly sat up, eyes narrowed and thumb jammed into her chest. “Bet I could beat him in a fight.” A fuschia eyebrow was raised before Poppy busted out laughing, making Barb’s indigence grow. “What, you think I can’t?”

“Why would you even fight?” Poppy said between laughs, wiping her eyes. 

The words seemed to die in her throat as Barb began to speak, leaving her looking embarrassed and flushed once more. “Uh...I dunno, cuz I could.” Her arms were quickly crossed defensively with a flick of her ear. 

“Do you think you could...beat him in karaoke?”

Barb shrugged passively. 

“You think you could beat _me?”_

A dark eyebrow was arched. Poppy could’ve sworn she saw a smile almost tug on the corners of her mouth before she sniffed and said, “Don’t cry over this, cake pop, but I doubt you’ve got what it takes to sing hard rock.”

Now it was Poppy’s turn to shrug, a bit cheekily. “Ditto. For pop.”

The laugh Barb let out was sharp and loud. “I’d rather get the rest of my ear bit off than sing some brainless pop song.”

“Hey, if you’re too chicken to come with me to the party room and meet me in the middle...” Poppy was already halfway off the bed, half lidded eyes accompanied by a sly smile. 

Barb’s fingers drummed against her arm as she took a deep breath. “You’re not worried about waking the others up, goody-two-shoes?”

Poppy shrugged once more, starting towards the door. “Guess I’m feeling kinda bad tonight.” She turned on her heel, hands on hips. “Are you?”

The toothy smile that split Barb’s face sent a rush of adrenaline through Poppy’s veins. 

\---

Luckily, the party room was a fair distance away from the others, so the hours Poppy and Barb spent cranking on different instruments and doing karaoke went undisturbed. Poppy was more or less expecting Barb to behave similarly to how she was in meetings: reserved, cold, and borderline uncaring. Much to her delight, however, Barb threw her whole self into every song. She seemed unafraid to belt, holler, and practically scream the lyrics to every rock song the machine had to offer. Her movements were sharp and swinging; not quite the kind of dancing Poppy was used to, but dancing nonetheless. Poppy excitedly banged on her cowbell and sang backup, reveling in the complete 180 in Barb’s character. The two party animals fed off of each other, jumping and dancing around like they’d been friends for years, energy overflowing and unrelenting. Barb even had a vicious, confident sort of smile on her face that Poppy had only seen a handful of times before; it made her heart race and hands shake with an unfamiliar, chaotic vibe that she couldn't explain. Poppy found a good amount of the rock songs actually pretty fun to join in on, especially with Barb’s fancy handwork on the electric guitar accompanying her strong, dominating voice. When Poppy got a chance to sing, Barb’s eyes never left her, joining in occasionally with both voice and guitar. There were even a few soft rock songs that they duetted; This was when Poppy felt the odd tension between them grow to its height. It burned, maybe even raged. Staring one another in the eyes, pretty much ignoring the screen, inches away from bumping noses as they sang into their mics and let the the multicolored lights wash over them in the moody darkness. They sang of parties, drinks, girls, getting tattoos, counting stars, and love. The two trolls were...competitive, to say the least. 

Once they’d gone through all the songs at least twice, worn their voices and fingers to the bone, and realized they had only a couple hours until the sun would rise, they declared their competition a tie (for the time being) and stumbled back to Barb’s room, collapsing onto the bed and crashing almost immediately. 

When the sun did start shining through the one tiny window Barb had in her room, it of course did so right into Poppy’s shut eyes. The pop troll groaned and scrunched up her face, attempting to roll over before realizing something was pressed against her back. Her eyes snapped open in brief fear. When the reality hit her that she was in Barb’s room, she relaxed once more, and had to contain her squeak of adoration when she registered that Barb had wrapped herself around Poppy in her sleep. Nose nestled in Poppy’s neck, arms around her waist, soft snores leaving her...was it weird to find it all endearing? Poppy wasn’t sure. She didn’t try to move away from Barb, either. On the contrary; she found herself snuggling up a bit closer to the queen of rock, reaching a hand up to enjoy the prickly feeling of her shaved head some more. 

Poppy had nearly fallen back asleep when the clopping sound of hooves barely met her ears. It was quickly dismissed as she sighed and rolled over, snuggling closer to Barb’s chest. No way did she want to wake up yet. Thankfully, the clip-clop continued down the hall, down closer to where Poppy’s room sat abandoned. Sleep nearly drifted back to her completely when the clopping suddenly became much faster, louder, and halted right outside the door.

“Queen Barb! Barb!” Delta Dawn’s voice was a bit muffled behind the door, but the hammering of her fist was plenty loud. “Queen Poppy’s room’s been chewed to bits, and she’s missing! _Barb!”_

Both Poppy and Barb were startled awake, groggy and tangled up together. Delta made the quick and rather panicked decision to kick the door in, sending it nearly flying off the hinges. Barb sat up immediately, Poppy just lifting her head up a bit from Barb’s lap. 

“Barb, Queen Poppy is-” The country troll yelped at the sight of the two wide-eyed trolls cuddled up in the bed. “Oh, sorry, sorry, I-I...Sorry!” The mayor made a hasty exit, door slamming shut behind her. 

After a moment or two of mortified silence, Poppy busted out laughing. Barb, even paler than usual, looked at her incredulously. 

“What’s so funny?” She spluttered while ungraciously separating herself from Poppy.

“Just the look on her face, I-” Another fit of giggles interrupted Poppy. “I wish I had a picture!”

Poppy, through her laugh attack, watched as Barb got up out of bed, rivaling a chameleon with how quickly she was changing colors. White, green, bright pink, muddy purple...Poppy wondered if it was a special skill all rock trolls had. 

“You’re insane,” Barb hissed as she clumsily began gathering up her things. “What if she tells the others that she saw us together?”

“Who cares?” Poppy scoffed, rolling out of bed and walking over to join Barb. “Friends have sleepovers all the time.”

Barb ground the heels of her hands into her eyes, grumbling under her breath. “We. Aren’t. Friends.”

That wiped the smile right off of Poppy’s face. “What?”

“We’re not!” Barb turned sharply to push her face into Poppy’s. “You’re the queen of _pop,_ I’m the queen of _hard rock_. We’ll never be anything, including friends!”

The sharp pang Poppy felt in her chest was unexpected, but so were the barely-visible tears brimming in Barb’s eyes. “...Are you okay?”

Barb let out a snarl, yanking at her mohawk in a burst of frustration. “Why didn’t you just go bug Delta last night?!”

“...Sounds like someone needs a hug.”

“Are you stupid or something?!”

Poppy shushed Barb gently, reaching out for a hug. Her arms were swatted away before Barb started roughly shoving her towards the door. “Hey! Barb, what’s your deal?” 

The rock queen said nothing. Poppy grabbed her shirt, gruffly pulling her in for a half-hug, half-headlock. “Why are you like this? You’re so weird!”

“Wh- _I’m_ weird?!” Barb said, voice breaking as she struggled to be freed from Poppy’s surprisingly strong grip. 

“Yeah! You are!” Poppy let herself become deadweight, dragging them both to the floor, straddling Barb to keep the squirming troll in her grasp. “You’re grouchy, then you’re all nervous, then you have actual _fun_ with me all night, and now you’re, like, freaked out and ready to cry?”

“I’m not gonna cry,” Barb growled. “Get off me, you pink sack of-”

Poppy planted both hands on either side of Barb’s head, using her hair the firmly grab the rock troll by the wrists. The sudden immobility left Barb speechless for a moment as a blush came running over her face.

“See?” Poppy huffed between heavy breaths. “You’re doing it again!”

“Doing what?”

“Turning all pink! What’s with that?” 

“Oh my God, will you just-” Barb tried to thrash again, but Poppy held tight. Sweat was beading on her brow and she could feel her heart start to really pound.

“You’re hiding something, I can tell. You think I’m dumb, but I’m not.” Poppy leaned in, face set with determination. “...You wanna be friends.”

Barb’s face contorted as if she were in pain. “Like hell I do.” Her hands balled into fists.

“Well you wanna be something! Just tell me!” Her heart jumped as Barb’s eyes widened at her words. “Tell me, Barb!”

Neither queen said anything for a moment that seemed to stretch for an hour. Heavy breathing and the thumping of their own hearts in their ears was the only sound in the room. Poppy could feel Barb trembling beneath her, her eyes wide and full of the words that seemed to be stuck in her throat. Silently willing Barb on, Poppy gingerly loosened her hair’s grip on Barb’s wrists. To her relief, Barb did not immediately go for an escape. 

Instead, she pushed herself forward and pressed her lips to Poppy’s. 

Poppy’s hair bristled in alarm for only a split second before she relaxed, closing her eyes and kissing back. She didn’t know why; it was as if her body was moving on its own accord. Kissing Barb felt natural, having her face cradled in Barb’s callused hands felt natural, burying her hand in Barb’s mohawk felt so, so natural. _Barb_ just felt _right._ When they finally broke apart for a much needed deep breath, Poppy went back in instantly to continue. She was not expecting her lips to meet the palm of Barb’s hand.

“Wh-?” She pulled away, sitting back on Barb’s legs. “Barb?”

Considerable regret had settled into Barb’s features. Unable to look Poppy in the eye, she just maneuvered out from under the bright pink troll, standing on jellied legs and slinging her bag over her shoulder. 

"Barb...what's the matter?"

Letting out a long sigh, Barb tugged on her earrings before slowly turning to face Poppy. "I...You..." Again, she sighed, staring at the ground rather than the troll before her.

Poppy fiddled with her fingers, the tension in the room growing too thick for her. "Hey, look, I get it, feelings are scary. We can go slow...we can talk about it."

Barb shook her head slowly, finally looking up to cast her watery eyes on Poppy, dark streaks of teary makeup running down her cheeks. “...Sorry,” she finally muttered before pushing passed the pop troll, ignoring her confused exclamations. 

Poppy watched Barb disappear down the hall in a mix of confusion and hurt. Still, she did not pursue the red haired troll. Instead, she slowly got dressed, collecting her bags and mulling over what had just occurred. They’d kissed. It wasn’t just a peck, either; No, that was heavy kissing. Pent-up-emotions kissing. It had been the last thing Poppy had been expecting to happen, but now that it did happen...she ached for it to continue. Why had Barb stopped them just as they’d started? Had she offended the rock troll somehow? Had bad morning breath? Poppy checked quickly as she trudged down the hall. Nope. So what was the issue? 

Entering the main hall, Poppy hoped to catch Barb to try and at least talk things over briefly, but there was no sign of her. In fact, there was no sign of any of the other trolls. They’d all up and left. What time was it? Poppy glanced up at the clock on the wall, just in time to hear the honk of Cloud Guy’s caterbus outside. Later than she’d anticipated...maybe Barb was still waiting for her ride outside? Poppy rushed through the doors as fast as she could with all her bags, scanning the surrounding forest for even a spot of greyish-pink or bright red. There was none to be found. 

“Howdy, Queen Poppy!” Cloud Guy said, floating amiably out of his bus. “How was your m-” He paused when he saw Poppy swinging her head around, searching almost frantically for something in the trees. “...Lose something?”

Poppy blinked as if she was just noticing the cloud before her. “Uh...not exactly...”

“Oh.” His smile quickly returned. “Well, away we go, then.” 

Poppy allowed him to gather up her bags, begrudgingly inching toward the bus doors. “Hey...did you see Queen Barb leave by any chance?”

Cloud Guy, reclined in the driver’s seat, scratched at the fluff under his lip in thought. “Hmm...I dunno. She the one with red hair?”

Poppy nodded eagerly. “Yeah! Where’d she go?”

Cloud Guy made a galloping motion with his fingers. “Went-a clip-clopping back home, by the looks of it. Headed towards Lonesome Flats.”

Clip-clopping? Poppy blinked a couple times in confusion before tutting and rolling her eyes. “No, not Delta, Barb!”

A loose shrug. “That’s the only red-haired lady I saw, Cole slaw.”

Poppy let out a heavy sigh of defeat. “Okay...well, let’s head back, I guess...”

The whole ride back, the sinking feeling in Poppy’s gut grew and grew. She just didn’t understand Barb...and frankly, she wasn’t exactly understanding herself in that moment either. She’d been content to be friends with Barb, but had she been wanting something more the whole time? Had Barb? Was all the blushing, nervousness, and pushback all because of some unconfessed feelings? Conflicted couldn’t even begin to describe Poppy’s emotions. Did she have a crush on Barb? She supposed so...why else would she kiss her back? Or be feeling so broken up after Barb’s sudden departure? The entire situation was messy, to put it lightly. Future meetings were going to be nothing short of awkward if they didn’t talk things out, Poppy decided. And what about Delta seeing them in bed like that? Had she picked up on Barb’s feelings? How Poppy didn’t clue in the whole night (and possibly for the last twelve meetings or so), she had no idea. Sure, she could be oblivious, but this was extreme, even for her. Ugh...She should have gone after Barb. Stupid. 

Once she’d returned to the pop village, she’d gone straight home, ignoring Branch’s prodding and insisting that she was just exhausted from the trip. Branch seemed unconvinced, but Poppy left it at that and told him she’d see him tomorrow before locking herself in her room. As tired as she was, she wasted no time heading straight for her desk to begin writing a letter to Barb. Begging was not what she was going for. Or pleading. She just wanted to strongly suggest to Barb that they talk things over. Maybe even over some chili and cupcakes.

The first letter got no response from the rock queen. Or the second. Third, fourth, and fifth letters all were ignored. Even better: At the next kingdom meeting, after Poppy had taken the entire previous night preparing a mini speech for Barb about the importance of communication and being okay with her feelings, Barb did not show. The others chalked it up to her forgetting, or just being too lazy to make the journey, but Poppy was boiling in the truth of the situation. Worry started to replace her frustration and dissatisfaction as more letters went unanswered and another meeting went unattended by Queen Barb. All the while, Poppy kept their "incident" a secret. By the third meeting, the other rulers were also beginning to worry, but none wanted to dare make the journey to Volcano Rock City to confront their queen. Even Poppy considered that too risky, and she didn’t know the way there anyway. As time wore on, it was simply accepted that Barb would not be attending any more meetings, and the queen of rock had gone AWOL. 

Guilt brewed in Poppy each time she had to stare at that empty stone chair. She’d pushed Barb too far; made her confess to things that she was obviously not ready to explore. Now she didn’t know if Barb missed her, resented her, or was even around to do either. What if the rock trolls had somehow found out about her affair with the pop queen and overthrown her, deeming her too soft to be their true leader? The thought made Poppy’s stomach churn. But if Barb was unwilling or unable to even respond to a letter after almost half a year...she supposed there was nothing left for her to do but move on and hope to maybe see Barb again in the future. 

Hopefully under better circumstances. 

**Author's Note:**

> I knowww sorta a gloomy ending...but I wanted it to kinda fit in with world tour. felt good to finally get that out of my system anyway!! hope it satisfies everyone else who also wanted more poppy/barb content! let me know if you liked it :)) hope to see more content for them soon!
> 
> EDIT: after a lot of encouragement, I’ve decided to write another chapter for this. Keep an eye out for that!


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